The present invention relates to a device for cutting the paper sleeve of defective filter cigarettes for recycling the tobacco, the device having a conveyor belt for feeding the cigarettes to a roller for opening the paper sleeves such that the cigarettes are essentially oriented parallel to the conveying direction.
From German Offenlegungschrift DE-OS 38 39 431 a device for recycling of tobacco from defective cigarettes is known in which the cigarettes which are essentially oriented parallel to the conveying direction are fed into a roller system by a conveyer belt which is wetted with water, wherein the roller system comprises at least one cutting roller with revolving knife rings. This cutting roller comprises either a plurality of knife rings which, in the form of closed individual rings, are arranged at an acute angle relative to the roller axis or with a coilshaped cutting knife extending over the entire length of the roller. In this manner it is ensured that the wetted paper sleeves of the cigarettes which are entering in axial orientation into the roller system are gently crushed without damaging the long fibers of the tobacco.
This known device has been successfully used in practice, however, an attentive and expensive service and cleaning is required since wet tobacco clumps are susceptible to molding.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for cutting the paper sleeve of defective filter cigarettes of the aforementioned kind, in which the wetting of the transported goods is avoided and which is suitable for recycling the tobacco of defective filter cigarettes.